In this blog post, I will reflect back on the act of putting the Quick Reference Guide draft together.
While reflecting, I will review the Student's Guide reading and answer corresponding questions.
A Student's Guide to First-Year Writing pg. 49-58
1. What parts of the book’s advice on the above bulleted topics are helpful for writing in this genre?
While writing my first draft of the QRG, I found many things in this section helpful. Some include:
- remaining flexible as I write (pg. 49)
- allowing thoughts and ideas to develop as you begin and are partaking in the writing process
- things might update or change
- do not remain fixed on a certain position on the subject
- the importance of paragraph breaks (pg. 51)
- quick and easy-to-read paragraphs
- white space
- PIE (pg. 51)
- Point, Illustration, Explanation
- can be done with quotes or any type of information
- grabbing the reader's attention (pg. 52)
- this genre should not be hard or boring to read
- well-organized (pg. 55)
- information should be presented in a well-developed manner
- not overwhelming or confusing
- looking back and looking forward (pg. 57)
- provide external context than just the situation/controversy itself
- gather insight into what might happen or has already happened after controversy
2. What parts of the book’s advice on these topics might not be so helpful, considering the genre you’re writing in?
Some of the book's tips I did not find so helpful, especially when dealing with this particular genre. This items include:
- thesis statements and revising them (pg. 49-50)
- while there is an overall purpose and theme to a QRG, there is not one major thesis.
- instead, it is an article that draws from one particular topic
- paragraph development (pg. 51)
- no body paragraphs in a QRG
- no need for topic and conclusion sentences
- tips for writing introductions (pg. 52-53)
- was not all that helpful because there was not much of an introduction to write
- no need for "fluff"; got to the point of the QRG immediately
Overall, I found many things in the book relatable to the genre, and the tips served as good reminders.
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REFLECTION
After reading some of my classmates' blog posts, I recognize some things that my QRG needs help with, in terms of editing and revising.
1. Organization: In Rachel's blog post, she clearly stated that organization is one, if not the most, important factor of any written work, but especially a QRG. In this genre, one has to be able to tell a sequence of events in order, so as to present the information in a timeline fashion. I need to revise my QRG so that it is more organized and fluid.
2. PIE Format: In my QRG, I do not know if I introduced and developed quotes and pieces of information well enough. I plan on going back and explaining quotes and pieces of information more thoroughly in the near future.
3. Introductions: I was reminded of the importance of introductions by my classmate Breanna. Even though an introduction in a QRG may be different than in other genres, it is still a necessary part of the paper. I need to work on introducing my topics and ideas cohesively, so as to not overwhelm the reader. This can go hand-in-hand with organization. I need to work on writing strong, thought-provoking introductions.
I found it interesting that you thought tips for writing an introduction wasn't helpful in a QRG. You may be right, however, I personally thought that it was helpful in that an introduction is vital for any genre of writing. Although you may not be building up to a thesis in a QRG, you are providing a clear and interesting background for your reader on your topic that will (you hope) cause them to want to continue reading.
ReplyDeleteI also thought that the PIE way of writing paragraphs was helpful as it provides an outline to follow when constructing the paragraphs. I also agree with you as far as the introduction goes. Not much of an introduction is needed because the audience is already interested in the subject. Although, as far as topic and concluding sentences go, I do think they are necessary. Even though each paragraph is concerning a different element to the story, I still think it is important to introduce the reader to what the paragraph will be about.
ReplyDeleteI think that the Intro section was the most helpful part to me because of how crucial it is to grab the every day net surfer's attention with the first few sentences. I also think there very much so is body paragraphs in QRG's but they are just different and with subheadings so I agree that the advice would not make sense. I like that you used specific examples of the advice where I just used general ideas.
ReplyDeleteI think that the Intro section was the most helpful part to me because of how crucial it is to grab the every day net surfer's attention with the first few sentences. I also think there very much so is body paragraphs in QRG's but they are just different and with subheadings so I agree that the advice would not make sense. I like that you used specific examples of the advice where I just used general ideas.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to see what you deemed as helpful and not helpful, especially the part about the introduction. In my opinion, it's important because you need to introduce the background of the topic to your reader. Other than that, I liked the way you organized the post, so you could easily see the information in each section.
ReplyDelete